The present invention relates to an orthopedic brace and especially to a soft flexible orthopedic brace providing for multiple and rapid adjustment.
Although body jackets have been known and used for many years in the treatment and rehabilitation of the spine, elderly, injured, and handicapped persons have experienced difficulty in putting on rigid and soft flexible orthoses and generally require assistance. It is known to use corset lacings and corset buckles in combination with soft, flexible orthoses to provide even adjustment and an easy release. For example, the buckle taught by Camp in U.S. Pat No. 2,053,600 has improved the adjustment of nonrigid orthoses. Using the Camp buckle, corset lacings threaded through the buckle are adjusted with the orthosis on the patient. The buckle straps are attached to the orthosis with snaps, permitting ease of removal and reinstallation.
In the past, rigid orthoses have used corset lacing on one side to secure the anterior section to the posterior section and once adjusted, remains permanently fixed. The other side may be attached by two straps, resulting in a body jacket that is difficult to put on. When the straps are tightened, the opposing side may rotate or twist toward the last adjusted strap. For many patients, this design requires two people to properly position the orthosis. Thus, many elderly and handicapped patients are unable to don the jacket.
A rigid body jacket is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,327 having a number of straps for connecting right and left sections with the straps secured to the jacket with hook and loop strips. The necessity for adjusting straps both front and rear prevents use by many patients without assistance in doffing and donning the orthosis.
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,110, a body jacket-type orthoses limits motion in thoracic or lumbo-sacral areas and uses a rigid orthoses design for ease of adjustment by a patient and which can be adjusted by the patient by pulling on a plurality of laces, each attached to a short strap having VELCRO thereon which is used to attach the straps to predetermined positions on the rigid brace members.
Other prior art U.S. patents for orthoses can be seen in the Brooks et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,543, for a lumbo-sacral brace using an elastic belt fastened with a pouch in combination with a semi-wrap-around polyurethane foam splint cured in place in the pouch. In the Kendrick patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,100,964, a surgical belt is illustrated in which a plurality of laces are interconnected to a single strap on either side thereof. In the Spiro patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,926,183, a dorsal lumbo sacral support combines elastic and non-elastic straps in a support device for a person's back, thoracic or pelvic areas. The Wax patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,665, is for a lumbo-sacral support having an elastic body encircling band and inelastic tensioning system. The Miller patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,288, illustrates a soft body brace attached to a patient with a plurality of straps. The Saunders patent is a back support system with interchangeable and positionally adjustable orthotic support. The Rosenberg patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,553, is also a lumbo-sacral orthosis orthopedic support for encircling the torso and has a plurality of straps. The Lewis, Jr. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,979 is an orthopedic appliance made of resilient material conforming to the lower back of a person and uses a plurality of adjustable straps. The Varn patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,304 is a thoracic lumbar sacral orthosis device formed as a jacket and has support plates which can attach thereto. The Peters patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,585 is a lumbo-sacral orthopedic support which encircles the torso of a patient and has adjustable strap portions. The Batard et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,933, is an orthopedic lumbo-sacral corset using semi-rigid elements and inflatable pads.
There is a need for a soft flexible glove-like body jacket orthosis which can be adjusted on the patient and then easily removed and replaced by the patient.
The present invention is directed towards a flexible lumbo-sacral orthopedic brace which fits in a glove-like fashion and can be easily attached and tightened in a wide variety of positions for a wide variety of body shapes and provides for optional side splints and lightweight splints removably attachable thereto.